Bridge deck crack surveys were performed on twelve bridges on US-59 south of Lawrence, Kansas, to determine the effects of mixture proportions, concrete properties, deck type, and girder type on the crack density of reinforced concrete bridge decks. Of the twelve decks surveyed, eight are supported by prestressed concrete girders and four are supported by steel girders. Four of the decks supported by prestressed girders are cast on partial-depth precast deck panels, two are monolithic with synthetic fibers, and two have overlays. Of the four decks supported by steel girders, two have silica fume overlays (SFO) and two are monolithic. One of two decks with a silica fume overlay contains synthetic fibers in the overlay. Following the surveys, crack maps were plotted and analyzed and cracking trends were observed. The results for the US-59 bridge decks are compared with crack densities obtained in a study of low-cracking high-performance concrete (LC-HPC) bridge decks. The monolithic concrete bridge decks supported by prestressed concrete girders within this study exhibit less cracking than decks supported by steel girders. At an age of approximately three and a half years, the US-59 monolithic decks supported by prestressed girders with deck panels are not displaying significant cracking; most of the cracks are short transverse cracks aligned with the joints between the deck panels. The US-59 decks supported by prestressed girders with overlays exhibit significantly more cracking than the decks on prestressed girders without overlays. Bridge decks supported by steel girders without overlays have slightly higher crack densities than the decks with overlays. No benefits of using fibers in either the overlay or deck have been observed in this study, the sample size, however, is small. An increase in crack density was observed with an increase in average concrete slump for decks supported by both prestressed and steel girders. Decks with deck panels supported by prestressed girders exhibited an increased crack density with an increase in paste content.

Essential infrastructures such as bridges are designed to provide a long-lasting and intergenerational functionality. In those cases, sustainability becomes of paramount importance when the infrastructure is exposed to aggressive environments, which can jeopardise their durability and lead to significant maintenance demands. The assessment of sustainability is however often complex and uncertain. The present study assesses the sustainability performance of 16 alternative designs of a concrete bridge deck in a coastal environment on the basis of a neutrosophic group analytic hierarchy process (AHP). The use of neutrosophic logic in the field of multi-criteria decision-making, as a generalisation of the widely used fuzzy logic, allows for a proper capture of the vagueness and uncertainties of the judgements emitted by the decision-makers. TOPSIS technique is then used to aggregate the different sustainability criteria. From the results, it is derived that only the simultaneous consideration of the economic, environmental and social life cycle impacts of a design shall lead to adequate sustainable designs. Choices made based on the optimality of a design in only some of the sustainability pillars will lead to erroneous conclusions. The use of concrete with silica fume has resulted in a sustainability performance of 46.3% better than conventional concrete designs.

NCHRP Report 566 is designed to help facilitate the use of supplementary cementitious materials to enhance durability of concrete used in highway construction, especially bridge decks. The report includes a methodology for selecting optimum concrete mixture proportions that focuses on durability aspects of concrete and the performance requirements for specific environmental conditions. The methodology is presented in a text format and as a computational tool, in the form of a Visual Basic?driven Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. Background information and a hypothetical case study was published as NCHRP Web-Only Document 110: Supplementary Cementitious Materials to Enhance Durability of Concrete Bridge Decks. The Statistical Experimental Design for Optimizing Concrete (SEDOC), the computational tool for the concrete mixture optimization methodology, and the user?s guide are available in a ZIP format for download.

Bridge deck deterioration in the northern Midwest creates significant costs to state Departments of Transportation (DOT's) in the region. The fundamental cause of the problem is low tensile strength and water permeable reinforced concrete resulting in deck cracking and ultimately reinforcing bar corrosion. Portland Cement Polymer Concrete (PCPC) combined with a design approach tailored to its advantages could virtually eliminate early deck deterioration and the associated costs providing an alternative asset management path for bridge decks. Bridge decks would no longer have to be removed from their substructure every fifteen years and replaced. The results would be higher quality, longer lasting bridge decks with lower life cycle costs. This project will demonstrate the feasibility and methodology of such a strategy. This project will develop a strategy that combines innovative concrete materials, novel design and cost analysis that enhances the longevity and reduces the life cycle cost of highway bridge decks. The project is expected to show significant life-cycle cost advantages to using a high performance bridge deck material.

At head of title: National Cooperative Highway Research Program.

Nonconventional Concrete Technologies: Renewal of the Highway Infrastructure identifies research and development opportunities in innovative, nonconventional materials and processes that have the potential to accelerate the construction process, improve the durability of highway pavement and bridges, and enhance the serviceability and longevity of new construction under adverse conditions.